Whether you are a type 1 or type 2 diabetic, sugared soft drinks should not be on your menu. If you are a type 1, you need to raise blood sugar and get your energy from fresh or dried fruits. If you are type 2, sugar should be off the table – for life. However; have you ever given much thought as to how to avoid diabetes altogether?

If you have gestational diabetes, even more care is required, because you can pass the tendency to this disease on to all your offspring.

In fact, it’s now a distinct possibility that as few as two sugared drinks a day could double the risk of developing both type 1 diabetes – an autoimmune disorder – and type 2 diabetes, according to a new study out of Sweden.

Type 2 diabetes, which accounts for about 92 percent of all diagnosed diabetes cases in the United States, is generally regarded as a disease of lifestyle related to obesity, lack of exercise, and poor dietary choices. About 28.5 million Americans have diabetes.

Other Forms of Diabetes

Sugared drinks, also called soft drinks, also increase the risk of developing latent autoimmune diabetes, which shares characteristics with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. This form of diabetes, or glucose intolerance, develops slowly, and victims may not need insulin for at least six months after diagnosis, but the process is inevitable nonetheless.

In short, notes the study, from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, each soft drink you consume raises your risk for developing diabetes by 20 percent. And that’s a lot. Double that, to about 24 ounces (about 700 ml) and you have insulin waiting in the wings for you whether you want it or not.

In addition to the forms mentioned above, diabetes can also appear as:

MODY, or Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young (irreversible), develops later than Type 1 diabetes but usually before age 25. It is often genetic, and does not always require insulin treatment.

Double diabetes (irreversible) is an autoimmune disease like Type 1.

Type 3 diabetes is insulin resistance in the brain (reversibility unknown), and some researchers now associate it with Alzheimer’s disease.

Steroid-induced diabetes (irreversible in context) can result from the use of steroids in treating asthma, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis (RAs), and certain forms of inflammatory bowel disease.

Brittle diabetes (irreversible), a hard-to-control form of Type 1 diabetes, which has elements of IBD, thyroid imbalance, and adrenal gland malfunction.

Secondary diabetes (irreversible), which results from certain health conditions like cystic fibrosis, chronic pancreatitis, and polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, to name a few.

Diabetes insipidus (unknown), a very rare form of diabetes that results from excessive urination.

The Role of Insulin in Diabetes

Insulin is made in the pancreas and helps the body convert sugar into energy as part of the metabolic process.

When the pancreas fails to work as well as it should, most patients are diagnosed with diabetes, usually type 2 diabetes. Doctors may also refer to something called “metabolic syndrome”, which is a whole complex of problems, type 2 diabetes being only one aspect of a general, body-wide failure.

Diabetic researchers have begun to believe that one aspect of diabetes (at least, type 2 diabetes) may be as simple as energy storage. Until the problem is identified and fixed, however, insulin is the weapon of choice when diabetics are no longer able to control their blood sugar levels with diet, exercise, and oral medications.

Insulin currently comes in liquid form, in vials or prefilled pens, and is injected by “units” into a fatty area on the body, typically belly, thigh, or forearm, in either slow-acting or fast-acting formulas. In the latter case, one unit typically represents about 10 degrees above normal blood sugar, which is considered to range from less than 100 mg/dl (milligrams per deciliter) before meals to up to 140 mg/dl up to two hours after meals.

The Future of Insulin

Not too far in the future, expect to get insulin from a patch, an implanted pump, a skin port (like a permanent IV port), or even inhaled insulin. Some scientists are even looking at a bionic pancreas, surgically inserted to take over where the pancreas has failed.

Until we reach that wonderful future, the best thing diabetics can do – for themselves and their loved ones – is to eat right (no sweets, fewer carbohydrates, lots of veggies, focus on lean proteins), exercise, and getting restful sleep. Believe it or not, sleep apnea may be a leading trigger for diabetes and insulin resistance. So if you sleep badly, wake frequently, and never feel rested, see your doctor.

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What is Diabetes? According to the Centers for Disease Control, or CDC, diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose levels are consistently above normal. How Common Is It? Diabetes is becoming more and more common in the United States, as our formerly agrarian/manufacturing economy turns to sitting behind a desk operating a computer without a cure.

The cost of this sedentary lifestyle – reinforced by private vehicles, public transit, and such innovations as Uber, is diabetes. From 1980 through 2014, the number of Americans with diagnosed diabetes has increased fourfold (from 5.5 million to 22.0 million). Many more – perhaps half again as many – remain undiagnosed, waiting for the first symptoms of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness, or gangrene in a leg or foot.

Cures and Treatment?

Diet, weight loss, and exercise are all good options. Researchers have concluded that weight loss and exercise alone can prevent or delay the occurrence of type 2 diabetes, even among adults at high risk for developing the disease.

Alternative Cures

Diet is the first line of defense. The best diet plan involves large amounts of fruits, vegetables, high-fiber foods, and whole grains (wild or brown rice, multigrain breads, cereals and pastas). Avoid most fats, especially dairy and animal protein fats, and salt.

Weight loss is important. The greater the Body Mass Index, or BMI, the closer a person is to developing diabetes. Overweight is borderline diabetic; obese is likely undiagnosed diabetes. Consult the chart, or calculate your risk by determining if you are more than 25 percent overweight (23 percent for Asian Americans, 26 percent for Pacific Islanders).

Exercise is also essential, because calories that are burnt can’t contribute to fat and, by extension, to diabetes. However, when all else fails, modern medicine steps in to the rescue. According to the CDC, from 1997 to 2011, the number of diabetic adults taking medication increased, most notably for insulin users after 2007. Increases were similar for those taking Sitagliptin-Metformin (a combination featured on the diabetic website daily-diabetic.com), glimiperide (Amaryl), or similar diabetic formulations.

What about Natural Medicine to Cure?

The best medicines are natural, and even some mainstream medical practitioners are beginning to see the benefits of these “herbal” cures.

First, all have proven anti-inflammatory properties, and some – like cinnamon – actually lower blood sugar. As with any medicine, whether natural or formulated, some work better for some diabetics, and others don’t. A little experimentation is necessary. Fortunately, it’s almost impossible to overdose on herbs and spices. Your taste buds will stop you before your body is affected.

Cinnamon lowers cholesterol and speeds up the metabolism, helping your body get rid of the fat that leads to type 2 diabetes. However, do not cook or heat the cinnamon, else it loses its curative properties. And never pair it with sugar. Try stevia, the only sweetener that is not detrimental to diabetics. In fact, stevia is good in its own right as a diabetes fighter.

The no-heat rule applies to all spices and herbs. Add them at the end of the cooking cycle, to retain their phytonutrient values. In baking, for example, sprinkle cinnamon on the bread or bun instead of adding it to the dough.

Other spices like cinnamon, and equally or more effective, include nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Perhaps this is why our ancestors always baked spicy pies to go with heavy holiday meals that packed on the pounds. Even peppermint is a good option (but not for those with acid reflux).

Basil, cumin, garlic, sage, thyme, and turmeric are all spices we should be using anyway, as they effectively replace the almost lethal amounts of table salt and other artificial seasonings (bacon bits, steak sauces, and seasoning salts) that Americans use.

The very best? Turmeric, which in recent studies prevented all subjects who took 1,500 mg daily from developing diabetes.